Student Guide: How to Do a Science Fair Project

Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair




Student Guide:
How to Do a Science Fair Project










Authors:
Karen Martin-Myers ~ Upper Cape Regional Technical School
Mary Ellen Stephen ~ Plymouth South High School
Mary Young ~ North Quincy High School

Editors:

Matthew Croft ~ Somerset High School
Nancy Degon ~ Auburn High School
Elaine Rezendes ~ Somerset High School

Redesign:
Matthew Croft ~ Somerset High School

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 1:
Why Do a Science Fair Project?............................................... Page 1

Section 2:
What is a Science Fair Project?............................................... Page 2

Section 3:
Selecting a Topic………………………………………………..…. Page 3

Section 4:
Keeping a Scientific Notebook or Log…………………………. Page 5

Section 5:
Researching the Topic……………………………………………. Page 7

Section 6:
Formatting a Hypothesis or Stating the Purpose……………. Page 8

Section 7:
Experimental Design or Research Plan……………………….. Page 9

Section 8:
Conducting the Experiment……………………………………… Page 11

Section 9:
Analyze the Experimental Data…………………………………. Page 13

Section 10:
Looking for Trends and Forming a Conclusion……………… Page 17

Section 11:
Writing the Paper………………………………………………….. Page 18

Section 12:
Writing the Abstract……………………………………………….. Page 23

Section 13:
Preparing Your Board and Visual Display…………………….. Page 24

Section 14:
Oral Presentation…………………………………….…………….. Page 26

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1.0
WHY DO A SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT?

What do market analysts, forensic crime technicians, and backyard gardeners have in
common? They al apply the inquiry process to the research necessary in their careers.
Most professions have common skil s that are required for success, such as critical and
creative thinking involving gaining, applying, and communicating knowledge. Working
col aboratively and contributing are common themes in education, science, and technology.
These common themes involve habits of mind such as curiosity, open-mindedness balanced
with skepticism, a sense of stewardship and care, respect for evidence, and persistence. Al
these skil s and themes are integral parts of doing a science fair project and help to prepare
you for a changing technological world.

Working on a science fair project requires using the skil s gained in Social Studies, English,
Math, Technology, the Arts, and the Sciences, making a science fair project an
interdisciplinary activity. Science fair projects provide opportunities to col aborate with many
teachers, especial y in Math and English, and implement cross-curriculum, or team
leadership and cooperation.

A science fair project al ows you to pose your own question and answer it. Doing a science
fair project involves developing and “owning” the question; researching literature; forming a
hypothesis; designing an experiment; gathering and organizing the data; analyzing, graphing,
and discussing the data; making a conclusion; writing the literary and research reports; and
making an oral and visual presentation. Therefore, you develop and apply skil s in literary
and laboratory research, statistical analysis, and public speaking, while gaining a sense of
empowerment and building self-esteem. Because science fair projects are actual y cross-
curriculum projects that train you for real-life problem solving, the science fair project
integrates al aspects of your education and helps to prepare you for real-world job
assignments. Having completed a science fair project, you wil have the skil s necessary to
design future investigations in a variety of different fields. A science fair project may become
the impetus for a future career.

Science fair projects are fun and fil ed with self-discovery. When beginning the process, you
may feel overwhelmed at its enormity, however you wil experience tremendous growth and
fulfil ment as you progress through the steps and are evaluated by peers, teachers, and
judges. This experience builds self-confidence and often enables you to present ideas to
others in various situations, such as col ege and job interviews.







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2.0
WHAT IS A SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT?

A science fair project is simply your independent research of a science topic using the
scientific method. Al work and ideas are yours, giving you “ownership” of the research
problem and results. By doing a science fair project, you wil find yourself doing the job of a
practicing, professional scientist; giving you a taste of how the body of knowledge we cal
science is accumulated.

2.1 STEPS TO DOING A SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT

1. Get a bound notebook to use as a logbook and number the pages.
2. Select a topic.
3. Narrow the topic to a specific problem, stated as a research question, with a single
variable.
4. Conduct a literature review of the topic and problem and write a draft of the research
report.
5. Form a hypothesis or state the purpose of the research.
6. Develop a research plan/experimental design.
7. Apply for approval. Fil out appropriate forms and get signatures of approval.
8. Write the research report.
9. Col ect materials and equipment. Make a lab schedule.
10. Conduct the experiment. Record the quantitative and qualitative data.
11. Analyze data, applying appropriate statistics.
12. Repeat your experiment, as necessary, to thoroughly explore the problem.
13. Form a conclusion.
14. Write the laboratory report.
15. Write the abstract.
16. Create the visual display.
17. Make an oral presentation of the project to teacher and/or classmates.
18. Review and polish presentation and display for the science fair.

2.2 STEPS TO DOING AN ENGINEERING PROJECT AND SOME
COMPUTER PROJECTS

Engineering Projects differ from most research projects. For an engineering project you stil
need to have a log and do a literature search. However, the steps in the project might be as
fol ows:
1. Define a need.
THE ENGINEERING
2. Develop the design criteria.
PROJECT GOAL is to build a
3. Do a literature search to see what has already been
device or design a system to
done.
solve a problem.
4. Prepare preliminary designs or algorithm (flow chart).

5. Build a prototype or write program.
THE COMPUTER PROJECT
6. Test the prototype/program.
GOAL is to solve a problem by
7. Retest and redesign, as necessary.
writing a computer program or

designing a computer system.

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3.0
SELECTING A TOPIC

There are several factors that need to be considered
when selecting a topic. Often, the simplest of projects
DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH
present the greatest chal enges to an imaginative and
INFORMATION?
intel igent student.


Information Sources
Consider the fol owing guidelines when selecting the topic
Before deciding on a topic,
of your research project:
check these sources of

information:
Choose a topic that interests you.
•
Libraries (school, public,
and col ege)
•
A hobby such as music, gardening, or model rocketry,
might give you something to investigate.
•
Previous projects you or
others have done
•
Sometimes your interest in a sport can provide ideas
for a science fair project.
•
Students who have already
completed science fair
•
Magazine or newspaper articles on science-related
events can spark your interest.
projects (see MSSEF
abstract booklets)
•
Find out if there is a sizable amount of information
and equipment available pertaining to the selected
•
Local col ege or scientific
topic.
institution support (for
information, equipment,
•
Science-based websites may inspire ideas.

and facilities)
Determine if the project is feasible.
•
Local research firms
•
Can the project be completed within the amount of
•
Verifiable Internet Sources
time al owed? Have you considered the time needed
for retrials or repeats of the experiment? For
example, in plant projects, you wil need a large
Finding Ideas for Projects
sample of plants ready to go in two- or three-week
You may find ideas for a
intervals.
science fair project from many
•
Are there environmental concerns? For example, is it
varied sources, such as those
the right time of year to make your observations or
listed here:
col ect samples?
• Science books
•
Do you have adequate laboratory resources or
• Science lab manuals
natural resources, or both, to carry out your
• Science fair books
investigation?
• Encyclopedias
•
What is the cost of completing the project? Is it within
• Science periodicals
your budget? Do you need special equipment
• Science teachers
beyond what is available? How wil you get it? Have
• Newspaper
you budgeted for retrials?
• Educational TV
•
Is the design of the experiment adequate? Are the
• Science museums
effects measurable in an objective way?
• Professionals

•
Does the project conform to ALL state or federal laws
• Consumer Reports
pertaining to scientific research? (See the current
MSSEF Manual, Forms, and Safety Regulations)

Complete the necessary documentation for your project.
• Some documentation wil require paperwork completed both before and after
experimentation for al projects.
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•
If you chose to work with any of the materials or organisms listed below, you wil need to
obtain approval from the MSSEF Scientific Review Committee (SRC) before
experimentation begins.
?
Potentially Hazardous Biological Agents (microorganisms, rDNA, human and
vertebrate animal tissue, blood, body fluids, etc.)
?
Vertebrate Animals
?
Human Subjects
?
Hazardous Chemicals, Activities or Devices
?
Controlled Substances

Obtaining approval involves additional certifications, permissions, and other paperwork. This
work is necessary for your protection, the protection of the environment, and certifies that you
have treated animals, including humans, properly, and have adhered to the laws of your local
town, state and the nation. Are you wil ing to complete this additional paperwork in order to
work in restricted areas?

If you are continuing a project, document new and different research (e.g., testing a new
variable requiring a new hypothesis).
•
Repeating previous experiments or increasing sample sizes are not acceptable
continuation projects.
•
A Student Checklist (1A), Research Plan, Form 1, Form 1B and Continuation Form (7)
need to be completed for each year’s work of a continuing research project before
experimentation begins.
•
If you plan to work on your project over the summer, you must complete your Student
Checklist and Research Plan and any other required forms, and have your school
approve your paperwork before the school year ends. If you are attending a summer
institute or science-training program you must have a teacher, a qualified scientist, and
the MSSEF Scientific Review Committee approve the research plan before the actual
training at the institute or program begins. Again, your next year’s science teacher must
approve your paperwork before school ends!
•
Do not discard ANY of your certification forms from previous years’ work when continuing
a research project. You wil be required to submit these forms along with the current
year’s forms when registering for the fair.
•
Use a new logbook to mark the beginning of your continuation project. Judges are asked
to evaluate your project on the merits of research completed during the current year and
not on material presented at previous science fairs.













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4.0
KEEPING A SCIENTIFIC NOTEBOOK OR LOG

One of the most important aspects of doing a science fair project is
documentation. Every experiment should be reproducible and the
entries in your notes should be sufficient for someone else to
reproduce the experiment.

The first thing to do when beginning a science fair project is to get
the notebook. You wil work out your thinking and the development
of your problem in the notebook. The scientific notebook is a bound
or spiral book with pages that are not removable. The validity of
your documentation partly depends upon insuring the work has not
been tampered with or pages removed.

When preparing the notebook there are several things that need
to be done.
1. Write your name inside the front cover.
2. Every page in the notebook must be numbered from the
Suggested Table of
start. If the book pages are not already numbered,
Contents for a Logbook:
number every page in order at the upper corner along

the outside edge of the pages.
?
3. Divide the book into sections and start a table of
Choosing a Project
contents. Successful students typical y divide their
? Literary Research
logbook into at least four sections (see box).
? Experimental Research
a. In the first section, begin your quest for ideas by
? Daily Log
listing topics or problems that you might investigate,

and your thoughts about each.

b. Make a section of the notebook for literary research. For each literary research
session, write the name of the library, the date, and the time visited at the top of a
new page. List the resources you examine. If you take notes from a text, head the
notes with al the information you wil need to make a citation. Use the margins to
enter the page of the reference from which the notes were taken. This wil give you
easy access to the “who,” “what,” “where,” and “when” that you’l need when writing
your research paper.
c. The next section contains experimental research or engineering design including the
research plan, data col ection, and data analysis.
d. The last section is the daily log where daily activities related to the research project
are recorded. After the experiment is recorded, head a new page with “Discussion”
or “Interpretation” before writing your inferences. Start a new page to write the
“Conclusion.” Remember, the better the records you keep, the easier it is to validate
your work.
4. When making a new entry, begin on a new page. Date each page as you use it.
5. The notebook must include al the steps of the scientific method, from the inception of the
project to its completion. Scientific notebooks include literary and experimental research,
the development of your idea or product and its evaluation, and al calculations. Entries
made by people other than you must be signed and dated by those people.
6. You can keep a log or daily journal in a section of your scientific notebook, or in a
separate book. If you plan to use a separate book for your log or daily journal, use the
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same type of bound book. The logbook is the chronological record of events during the
experimentation.

When making entries in your notebook, fol ow these guidelines.
•
Write the entry immediately after the work was performed.
•
Write the date of the entry at the top of the outside margin of every page.
•
Sign and date every entry.
•
Mark and title each section clearly.
•
Write legibly and in clear, understandable language.
•
Use the active voice in the first person when making an entry so it clearly indicates who
did the work. Your experimental entries should read like a story. Il ustrate as necessary
- a picture can be worth a thousand words!
•
Record everything - no detail is insignificant.
•
Title, label, and date al graphs and tables.
•
Tape, staple, or paste computer print-outs, photographs, etc. into logbook.
•
Have anyone who witnesses your work sign as a witness and date the entry.
•
Never remove or obliterate an entry from your notebook. What you think is “a goof” may
later turn out to be to be a great asset!









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5.0
RESEARCHING THE TOPIC

You have decided upon a topic and are thinking,
“Where do I begin?” The best place to begin is the
Periodicals
library. The library wil have magazines, newspapers,

books on the subject, scientific references, and
Many popular newsstand
electronic resources, each with information about some
magazines written for the
aspect of your topic.
general public may not have

scientifical y reliable information
You may think you should begin with an encyclopedia. appropriate for your background
Encyclopedias are quick references that wil give you
research, so these should not
basic background information, but not the specific
be your main references. Some
scientific information you may need, especial y if you
reliable periodicals for scientific
chose a cutting-edge field of science. It is acceptable to
research are listed below.
begin with an encyclopedia for key terms, but do not

Air and Space Magazine
use general encyclopedias as the only source of your
American Biology Teacher
information, and do not include them in your list of
American Journal of Physics
references. However, good scientific encyclopedias,
Astronomy
such as The Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, are
Chemical and Engineering News
acceptable resources.
Discover

Environmental Science Technology
You’re more likely to find what you need in large public
Journal of Chemical Education
libraries and col ege libraries. Scientific journals can be
Natural History
found at these libraries. Articles in scientific journals
Science
have some of the most up-to-date information on many
Science News
current hot topics in research. There are scientific
Scientific American
journals specific to every field in science. Articles in
journals wil be found in three forms: as complete papers with short abstracts, as final notes
on projects, and as updates or communications about ongoing research.

You wil be able to find texts on particular science topics in the 500s and 600s of the library
stacks. Col ege texts have information that goes beyond what most high school texts offer.
Most libraries have databases on computers, which make the search for books and magazine
articles much easier.
Note-Taking Alternative


The Internet is also a valuable tool for students doing
Some students find it useful to
research. When conducting research on the Internet,
use note cards to record
make sure that you use reliable sources. Information
research and bibliography
you use wil need the same citation data as a book or
information in addition to
magazine article: author, title, publisher, and copyright.
recording this information in the
It is best to download copies of everything you use,
scientific notebook. These
including the website address.
cards can be arranged and

rearranged to help you find the
Remember, good literary research and documentation
best sequence to present the
provides a solid foundation for your hypothesis and
literature and experiment. (Use
experiment.
a different color for each book,

for easy recognition.)

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6.0
FORMING A HYPOTHESIS OR STATING THE PURPOSE

Once you have selected and researched your topic, you wil need to identify the problem.
Phrase your problem as a question and phrase your hypothesis as a statement. Be specific
in stating your hypothesis or purpose, but don’t be overly wordy. Most scientists prefer a
hypothesis rather than a statement of purpose, although for engineering projects or computer
projects a statement of purpose is preferred.

6.1 HYPOTHESIS
Sample Hypotheses


A hypothesis is a trial solution to a
•
The ingestion of caffeine increases the heart
research problem. The data you
rate of Daphnia sp.
acquire through experimentation
•
Ascorbic acid concentration in orange juice
can be used to support or refute the
varies directly with temperature.
hypothesis. Sometimes your data
•
Hard materials are more effective at reducing
shows the hypothesis to be
sound levels than soft materials.
incorrect, but this is not a problem
•
Radish seeds wil not germinate as wel when
as long as your background
watered with acidic water compared with neutral
research justifies the hypothesis.
water.
Sometimes your data wil neither
•
Juvenile horseshoe crabs prefer a mud bottom
support nor refute your hypothesis.
to a sand bottom.


6.2 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Some project work is best summarized with a statement of purpose. This is especial y true
with computer or engineering projects. Rather than testing a supposition, these projects
often involve the development of new equipment, materials, procedures, or models.


Sample Statements of Purpose



• The purpose of this computer program

is to model the flow of various

chemicals through the soil and into the

ground water.

• The purpose of this project is to

develop a Remotely Piloted Vehicle

(RPV) that uses the cel ular telephone

network as a transmission system.






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